Robert Sloan

The Houston Boat Sport and Travel show has once again delivered the latest in boats and motors. It continues through Sunday, Jan. 11. While there last weekend, I got a good look at the all new Evinrude E-TEC G2, and I also checked the array of boats that Texas Marine had on display.

This week’s blast of cold weather will more than likely send big-time numbers of ducks and geese down the Central Flyway. The duck season so far has been hit and miss here in Southeast Texas, but the numbers of ducks on the middle Texas coast is definitely better than expected.

I don’t know if it gets any better than this in Texas. We can hunt deer, shoot ducks and geese, fish for reds and trout under birds on Sabine Lake, or head to the surf to catch bull reds till our arms give out.

A few days ago, I fished Sabine Lake and two of us caught enough trout and reds to feed a family reunion. The very next day, I was sitting in a duck blind shooting red heads and pintails over a spread of decoys.

Finally the biggest event in Texas hunting is here – Saturday, Nov. 1, is the season opener on deer across the Lone Star state. It’s a fact that white-tailed deer hunting in Texas provides an opportunity for more than 800,000 hunters to go afield and harvest America’s most abundant big game animal. It’s also a fact that deer hunters annually contribute more than $2 billion to the Texas economy.

Just to give you an example of how good the fast approaching gun season on deer will be, check this out. Bow hunters recently tagged two huge bucks. One taken in the Pineywoods scored 163 Boone & Crockett points. Another taken in South Texas scored 183 B&C points. That’s a good indication this deer season could deliver some outstanding bucks.

Fishing on Sabine Lake is nothing but one big guessing game these days. The fish that are on one day have lockjaw the next. Right now it’s tough to pin down birds holding over trout and reds, and if you do, most of the specks feeding under the birds are “cigar” sized.

The cool front that blew through Southeast Texas this past Saturday morning, Sept. 13, pushed a ton of teal our way and set up many excellent hunts. Some of the best were south of Winnie and in the J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area. But like any other September teal opener, it was all about being in the right place at the right time.

Monday, Sept. 1, was the Central Zone dove season opener, and as usual the success rate was all about being the right field at the right time. One of the best fields for the opener here in Southeast Texas was just west of Beaumont. That’s where a small group of hunters had an excellent shoot over a 50-acre field that had been cut last week. The doves moved in a few days before the season opener, and even though the field was soggy from recent rains, the birds wanted in.

This past Sunday morning delivered some seriously freaky weather for August. I stepped outside at daylight and the north wind was actually cool. Later that morning, Sabine Lake guide Jerry Norris called to say that he had found calm water to the beach, and the trout were tearing up topwater Super Spook Jr.’s. It doesn’t get much better than that in August. So what did I do? Cranked up the pit and smoked two racks of ribs and a whole chicken, all without breaking a sweat.

Heading into the July 4 weekend leads us to an array of fishing options. On the coast, your best bet is to fish the jetties with live shrimp, finger mullet or mud minnows. It’s a sure thing that there will be plenty of boats fishing the rocks, which is why live baits will rule at the Sabine jetties.

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